David Neumann

Perchang bringing Warhammer Quest 2 to Android in April

March 29, 2018 David Neumann 7

iOS Universal, Android • Warhammer Quest 2 had a bit of a rough release on iOS with many Stately Players [it’s too early, don’t start -ed.] complaining that the sequel lacked the original‘s tension and difficulty mainly due to a lack of random encounters. Perchang was on top of it, however, and released an expansion as well as updated the game to include, you guessed it, random dungeon encounters. Suddenly our forums were full of happy stories detailing the latest TPK at the hands of some random beastie and all was good again. Or was it? Turns out Android users still weren’t able to play and were crying in their Oreos. Or is it Marshmallows? Or Honeycombs? I can’t keep up. Good news, Android users! Perchang has announced that the Android version of Warhammer Quest 2 will be arriving on Google Play this April.

CGE plays Efficient Upgrade and releases Through the Ages on Steam

March 28, 2018 David Neumann 2

iOS, Android, PC/Mac/Linux • If there’s one thing I’ve learned after doing this at 164, Owen’s old site, and here at Stately Play, it’s that big news will always drop when I’m unable to reach a keyboard. I’ve been behind the wheel of a 13 year-old minivan the last few days, so getting new news up on the site has been…challenging. Luckily, Kelsey filled in and wrote something I can only describe as “don’t miss”. Still, I failed Czech Games and my favorite title of 2017 by missing the launch of Through the Ages on Steam. So, here goes: If you haven’t heard, Through the Ages is now on Steam!

Another victim of the App-ocalypse, Imperial, comes roaring back to life

March 26, 2018 David Neumann 2

Well, what do you know, miracles can happen. Imperial is one of the first board game apps to land on the iPad way back in 2011 or so, and it was not well received by the general public. Much of this was due to the opacity of Mac Gerdt’s original design which has the feel of 18xx, but looks like a Dudes On A Map game, but it was also because the app was, how to say this nicely, not polished. Graphically, it resembled something cobbled together using scans from the cardboard version and pieces created in Microsoft Paint, but under the hood it was a rocket ship. The AI was stellar and the app included all the advanced variants, something even the big publishers don’t always pull off today. Problem is, the app hadn’t seen any love from its developer since 2013 and when iOS 11 rolled into town, Imperial finally left its spot on the home page of my iPad. I’m happy to announce that, yesterday, I was able to reinstall it thanks to a surprise patch that updated it to 64-bits.

Stately Scrying: What we’re playing this weekend

March 23, 2018 David Neumann 18

After missing out on Stately Scrying last week, I learned that I actually missed seeing what my comrades were going to be digging into when Stately Play went to sleep for the weekend. I vowed to never again miss another Scrying post, well, at least until the next time I can’t write one. I’m nothing if not dedicated. This is probably a good time to tell you that the next time I can’t write will be next week. My kids have off school for spring break, so we’re driving the family truckster down to Florida on Monday morning. Thus, I know I’ll be away from my keyboard on Monday and Tuesday, but I plan on being back at the keys by Tuesday night. Plans often change, however, especially when there are kids and a wife in vacation-mode present. Thus, I make no promises. Who cares about next week, however, when we have this weekend to talk about.

Kickstarter Roundup: What’s hot in tabletop gaming on the crowdfunding front

March 22, 2018 David Neumann 7

Tabletop • There are a million discussions out there about Kickstarter and its effect and influence on the world of cardboard gaming with both pros and cons in regards to the crowdfunding giant. Whatever side you may fall on, Kickstarter isn’t going anywhere soon and more and more publishers are finding the pre-order-esque system of Kickstarter a more risk-averse way of publishing than the standard route. From my vantage point the only downside is that many games are Kickstarter only, which means that if you don’t have the time or money to jump on a campaign when it’s live, you’re out of luck and will have to buy the game on the secondary market, which is usually populated by sharks with no interest in said game, only looking to profit and profit big. Then again, it’s only a game, and missing one of the thousands of releases each year isn’t going to ruin anyone’s life. So, I thought it would be a good time to look at some of the games currently on Kickstarter and let you know what’s out there that looks good. I’m not sure if this will be a weekly or monthly feature (or a recurring feature at all), but I’m desperate for stuff to write about, so I’m using you as guinea pigs. Thanks! Of course, there are a ton of games out there on Kickstarter and I can’t cover them all. Thus, I’m only grabbing a handful of the games that have piqued my interest.

Civilization VI for Mac catches up to its PC counterpart, adds Rise & Fall

March 22, 2018 David Neumann 1

Rise and Fall available for PC/Mac/Linux • iPad version available w/o Rise & Fall expansion • Mac gamers are used to being disappointed when it comes to new games not making their way to our preferred platform. I know, it’s my own damn fault for expecting my MacBook Pro to compete with a Windows machine but, dammit, I so much prefer my Mac for doing what I’m doing right now, namely writing. So, without the resources to have both, I’m saddled with a Mac for gaming. I’m still waiting for Divinity: Original Sin 2 to come to Mac (I kickstarted it not realizing it was going to be Windows only) and have been waiting patiently for Aspyr to bring the first Civ VI expansion–which arrived on Windows in early February–to Mac. Today, I was totally surprised when I loaded up Steam and, lo and behold, there was a 2 GB update. What could it be? Yes, Rise and Fall has come to Mac.

Fire & Ice coming to Terra Mystica in April

March 22, 2018 David Neumann 5

iOS, Android, PC/Mac/Linux • I haven’t spent a lot of time singing the praises of Digidiced‘s digital port of the euro-game masterpiece, Terra Mystica. Not because it’s not a great port or the game itself isn’t my cup of tea, the reality is that the game is just too damn confusing. Yes, I’ve played it on the tabletop, but I’m not sure I ever got my head around TM’s wheels-within-wheels design that seems complex for complexity’s sake. Seriously, there are so many different rules, ways to play, and mechanisms that it’s a very hard game to truly understand without many, many playthroughs. And all complexity happens even before you take into account the 14 different races, each with their own tweaks to the base rules. On the tabletop you can take your time to figure out just what the hell is going on, but the app comes at you full speed. There are tokens flying, actions being taken, and points being scored and I JUST CAN’T HANDLE IT.

A weekend of gaming dissected or how I learned to stop worrying and love 18xx

March 21, 2018 David Neumann 23

Tabletop • As I mentioned last Friday, I spent last Thursday through Sunday up in the woods with four of my best [only? -ed.] friends where we would drink and eat far too much while playing as many games as we could fit in the time allotted to us. This was the seventh year we’ve done this and, in the past, I would try to bring as many new games as possible. It slowly dawned on all of us that trying to teach games to folks who’ve been drinking since noon isn’t a great idea unless you start teaching well before noon. Thus, I’ve limited my new game exploration to only one each morning and after that–once the Sailor Jerry starts flowing–we sink back into the comfortable arms of games we already know how to play. This year our fallback was 18xx. Lots and lots of 18xx.

A Stately Play-cation

March 16, 2018 David Neumann 20

Hey everyone! Just wanted to let everyone know that I’m currently up in the still wintry northern woods of Wisconsin. No, I haven’t been abducted by scofflaws looking to sell me into the sex-trade for fat, old white guys. I’m not that lucky. Instead, I’m at our annual mini-convention that consists of myself and 4 of my gaming buddies and we’re playing the hell out of the many, many pounds of cardboard we brought with us. So far we’ve played Inis, Railways of the World, 1889, Hab & Gut, Flamme Rouge, Antiquity and the list is only going to keep growing. Bottom line I’m not going to be around to post today, which means no Stately Scrying article this afternoon as well as no other cutting edge news stories (I might be stretching the limits of believability by calling anything I write “cutting edge”). I’ll definitely be posting next week, however, and will give a run down and mini-review of everything that hits the table this weekend. See you then!

Darkest Dungeon adds DLC and drastically drops down to a dollar

March 14, 2018 David Neumann 6

iPad, PC/Mac/Linux, Switch, Xbox, Playstation • When Darkest Dungeon came out for iPad last fall, I instantly became addicted and played it more than I had in the previous three years it had dwelled on my laptop. I know the love for DD wasn’t universal with many complaining about the wonky UI that could be both tiny and fidgety at the same time, while others saying the difficulty level went beyond their definition of fun. Both were valid points–it’s close, but not a perfect port–but I loved it and kept throwing my hapless adventurers right into the woodchipper with the hope that the Crimson Court and other expansion content would soon arrive on the platform. Today is that day.

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